Sports

NEW YORK — Lucas Duda homered twice and hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning after newcomer Yoenis Cespedes was walked intentionally, leading the New York Mets to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night in front of the second largest regular-season crowd ever at Citi Field.
Playing in his first game since being acquired from Detroit Friday at the trade deadline, Cespedes was walked by reliever Matt Thornton (1-1) even though Duda had connected twice on fireworks night off Joe Ross and has been on a recent tear.

ST. LOUIS — Nolan Arenado and Ben Paulsen homered, sending Jorge De La Rosa and the Colorado Rockies to a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.
Arenado connected for a two-run shot in the fourth against Lance Lynn (8-6) and Paulsen added a leadoff drive in the sixth. Paulsen finished with two hits and three RBIs in Colorado’s first win at Busch Stadium since May 12, 2013, snapping a string of five straight losses at St. Louis.

Shattered cellphones. Fireworks accidents. Failed drug tests.
The NFL’s endless aggravation raged through an offseason marked by more crime and punishment, rules violations by owners, and the never-ending “Deflategate” saga.
The latest black eye came from Pro Bowl defensive end Sheldon Richardson, who addressed his recent drug suspension by telling his teammates and coaches as they reported to training camp that “they don’t have to worry about my name being in the news again.”

From a beauty salon in Beverly Hills to an intersection in Zurich people are talking about American Pharoah.
Derek Jeter. Carrie Underwood. Drew Brees. Even Cheech and Chong. All have chatted up either the owner, trainer or jockey of American Pharoah in the weeks after the horse became the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years with a sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Brandon Marshall is back on the football field, trying to replicate last year’s breakout season despite two screws in his right foot and a heavy heart.
Marshall led the Broncos with 111 tackles last year despite being hobbled down the stretch by a right foot injury that required offseason surgery.
Because he didn’t have the operation until March, he’ll have to play the whole season before surgeons can remove hardware in his right foot, meaning he’ll have to manage some pain along the way.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Two things were certain Saturday when the New England Patriots put on pads for the first time at training camp: The home fans sure do love Tom Brady, and the quarterback’s suspension and court case haven’t affected his accuracy.
In between raucous cheers that started when he ran onto the field, Brady was strong and precise with his passing. He completed 12 consecutive passes during 11-on-11 work and also lofted a nifty touchdown pass to Danny Amendola during a goal-line drill.
“Tom’s our leader,” Amendola said.

LEXINGTON, Ohio — Needing a strong final push to challenge for the IndyCar championship, Scott Dixon can’t ask for a much better opportunity than this.
In third place in the standings with three races remaining, Dixon will start from the front Sunday at Mid-Ohio, the track where he has won five times in 10 starts and looks as dominant as ever this weekend. Dixon set a track record with his pole-winning time Saturday and understands this may the best chance he’ll get to close the gap on points leader Juan Pablo Montoya.

NEWTON, Iowa — Ryan Blaney survived a flurry of late cautions to win the NASCAR Xfinity race Saturday night at Iowa Speedway for his first victory of the season.
The 21-year-old Blaney erased the sting of a disappointing runner-up finish last week in Indianapolis by maintaining his lead through a second green-white-checkered finish on the 0.894-mile oval.
Blaney led a track-record 252 laps, winning after finishing second three times in his other six Xfinity starts this season.
Regan Smith was second, followed by Brian Scott, Ty Dillon and Brendan Gaughan

LONG POND, Pa. — Jeff Gordon’s request for a low-key farewell tour has mostly been respected, though the four-time NASCAR champion has been feted with a parade, bourbon, an 18-liter bottle of wine, even a track named in his honor.
In the final season of his trailblazing career, there was another tribute this weekend for the retiring great: Pocono Raceway painted “GORDON” in white at the start/finish line in honor of the winningest driver in track history.

TPWD game warden to speak in Lubbock
(TPWD) The public is invited to hear Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden Mallory Mitchell talk about game wardens and enforcement during the Llano Estacado Audubon Society quarterly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Garden and Arts Center, 4215 University Ave.